1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image recording apparatus and method; more specifically, to an image recording apparatus and image recording method suitable for creating marginless printouts whereby images are recorded on the entire print surface of a recording medium without leaving margins in the peripheral edges of the recording medium.
2. Description of the Related Art
Disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 5-58012 is a shuttle head-type inkjet recording apparatus that prints images as a recording head reciprocally moves in the direction (paper width direction) perpendicular to the conveyance direction of the recording medium, the apparatus having a configuration in which a paper width determination device is disposed on the recording head carriage, the width of the paper (recording medium) is determined with the paper width determination device, and the image recording operation is controlled based on the determined paper width. On the other hand, disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2001-96874 is an image recording method in which ink or another image formation substance is transferred to solely the area in which an image-receiving medium is present according to information about the area in which the-image receiving medium (recording medium) is present.
However, the inkjet recording apparatus disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 5-58012 entails conveying a recording medium to a predetermined position on the platen, and prevents printing directly to the platen by controlling the image recording information according to the paper width determination signal. The content of the above publication is limited to shuttle-type apparatuses, and the realization of marginless printing is not cited.
Examples of methods used to create marginless printouts with an inkjet recording apparatus include a method in which recording images that are smaller than the recording medium are recorded, and the blank peripheral margin portion (edge portion) is cut off; and a method for recording images to a greater size that the recording medium. The former method excessively consumes ink and recording medium, and requires a mechanism that recovers and eliminates the cropped portion. The latter method has a drawback in that the peripheral portion of the image does not fit into the area of the recording medium, the medium conveyance pathway becomes sullied by the ink discharged to the area outside the recording medium, and the ink therefrom adheres to the reverse side of the recording medium.
With respect to this issue, Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2001-96874 cites a concept for determining the area in which an image-receiving medium is present, and producing marginless printouts according to the determination results. However, Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2001-96874 does not mention a specific image processing method for producing marginless printouts. In the same publication, the image recording area is identified by the ratio of the size of the image and the size of the recording medium, but when using a large recording medium, the absolute value (length) of the blank area increases, and a white-framed margin becomes visible.